Autumn Nights
by OhSnapItzCat
Summary: It was another autumn night they had planned. Drinks, dinner, hook-up. Little did they know, they would loose track of time and admit to each other what they wanted.


Autumn Nights

"You make me feel alive. Fuck them other bitches, I will put 'em to the side.  
Shit's so real, baby, look me in my eyes. You're so money, baby, you ain't even have to try.  
Now I'm running with you 'round East Lansing. Tito's in your dorm, we're dancing.  
It's a quarter after three. Saying everything we mean.  
For a moment, I was feeling like I had you. Didn't wanna leave, I had to.  
It's a quarter after three. Saying everything we mean"  
\- 3:15 Bazzi

The red head was being twirled for the 3rd time that night as "LOVE" by Nat King Cole played in the background. An empty bottle of tito's and two cans of sprite stood tall at the very end of the dining table right next to the unfinished lemon chicken pasta.

She clumsily tripped over her toes, palms landing flat against the golden mans chest. He laughed as his hands dropped to her waist to steady her balance. His eyes softening as he looked down and saw nothing but emerald green. A soft breeze passes through the window, creating goosebumps against their skin. It was a beautiful autumn night in Michigan.

The atmosphere felt light, the kind where you're unsure if you feel this magnificent high because of the alcohol or because you stayed awake for way too long. In all honestly, he knew neither were the cause, it was her. It was always her.

He can recall the first time they crossed paths. Clary was on her toes, jumping, using anything within her reach to help grab the box of angel hair pasta. He had obviously offered her help, but in a great turn of events, she turned down his offer and was able to get the box to drop into her hands.

Only 30 minutes later did they bump into each other in a liquor store a few blocks down and the rest was history. He remembered her coming over to his hotel room since her dorm suite in Michigan State had a 24 hour silence policy for midterms week.

They were four years apart, but that didn't play any matter when they took turns sketching a template design of their ideal home on a hotel napkin. He learned that she was in the middle of her sophomore year pursuing Architecture and was being conflicted with wanting to take on another major like education.

He found her ambition incredibly sexy, but wasn't surprised when he learned her hobby of sketches and paintings had a small following on Instagram. He opened up about being in his senior year of college for civil engineering and that he was in town because he was leading a construction project for the company he was interning with.

He remembered her laughing, shaking her head in disbelief when he told her that he was working part time as a Taekwondo instructor and demanded him to teach her self-defense. Some time that night, after her first lesson in self-defense, they found themselves tangled in the light grey hotel sheets.

Jace remembered the clock blinking 2:20AM in bright red when he asked if they can meet again when he comes back to finalize the project. "Only if you manage to get my number", she had said. And he did.

Throughout the next 3 years, they would meet up whenever Jace was in town. They weren't exclusive or anything, they both had other hook ups, but he would always think of her when he was with someone else. Little did he know, she was the same way.

He had always used his vacation periods to fly down to Michigan after the 1st year when his internship was over. He always had to go back to LA, until he graduated and landed a business opportunity on the other side of the country in New York.

"Hey," she whispered. Her hands slid up his neck as her auburn brows knit together "come back to me Jace." She glanced sideways, squinting at the clock before turning back, "we only have 7 hours until your flight leaves".

His thumbs circled her hips and he leaned forward to peck her forehead. She was right, he needs to make it to the airport at 9AM before take off. This is the part he usually hated it, mainly because he always had a hard time leaving her.

He watched her adams apple bob as she gulped, her eyes diverting from his as she started to pull back a little. Enough to give some distance, but still close enough to hold on to his hands. He can tell that she was still a buzzed from the alcohol, but much more sober than 10 minutes ago. It seems whatever she is about to tell him required her to have liquid courage.

"I was wondering i- actually I'm not even sure if we might be on the same page. I-um..", she bit her lip in frustration and turned to take a seat on the couch. Her elbows against he knees as her face hides into her hands, fingers rubbing her temples.

Jace went down on his knees to kneel in front of her, chuckling as he removes her hands from her face and places them on her lap. "What is it Red?" he asks, his hands going back up to tuck her curls behind her ears.

Gold met green, he had never seen her expression so determined yet so curious at the same time. "Have you ever thought that maybe this," she pointed between them, "could be something?"

Jace nodded, his face not showing any emotion except confirmation. "I have" he said, waiting for her to continue. She gave a soft smile, and her shoulders dropped in a sigh of relief. "Now that I have this freelance job, I'm considering to move back to New York."

"It probably won't be until November when I have enough saved for a down payment but, I um..", she couldn't help her legs from bouncing but her nerves were getting the best of her. Her curls fell around her face as she looked down onto her lap, "I know you don't do relationships .. but- actually, you know what, never mind!"

Clary shoots up from the couch, Jace going sideways, then standing up right after her. "Let's go to bed, you must be exhausted. Go wash up, I'll meet you in the bedroom", she says with a small smile. Before he even gets to protest and process what just happened, she leaves into the dining room, picking up the empty bottles and dishes.

Jace follows after her, taking the remainder of pasta into the kitchen. She silently hums washing the dishes as he packages the left over into a container, placing it in the fridge. Clary stalls, furiously rubbing at the last pan in the sink.

"You know, I don't think it can get any cleaner than it is now", Jace states. He walks up behind her, his hands falling on top of hers to rinse the soap off and place it on the dish rack. He then takes a bit of soap and rubs bother their hands before drying it with the kitchen cloth.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say you're hiding something from me."

Clary turned around but didn't say anything, her nose scrunching up at him to hide the fact she got caught. Instead of waiting, Jace took her hand and pulled her along, turning the lights and music off in the apartment, leading them to her bedroom. He quickly removed his shirt, tossing his wallet onto the bed as he changed from his work pants into the sweats he would leave at her place.

He felt her eyes follow his every moment, but she still stood silent, he can tell she was deep in thought. Jace took a hold of the bottom of her shirt and lifted, her hands going up to help. He couldn't stop the intake of his breath when he saw the red lace lingerie she had on. "Christ", he muttered under his breath, quickly grabbing his shirt to place on her.

In the process, Clary let out a small giggle, sliding her arms into his short sleeves. He quirked a brow as her head popped through the t-shirt hole, "and so she speaks". He reached down to grab a hold of her leggings, going down on his knees to remove her bottoms. He placed a kiss on her inner thigh before tugging on his shirt to hang lower down, getting back up to put their dirty clothes into the hamper.

"What was the point of taking those off if you were going to put this on me?" Clary asked crawling backwards, leaving enough room on the bed for Jace. He took off his watch and placed it on the bedside table before sitting onto the spot Clary left for him. "We'll, it's to stop me from being distracted so we can continue the conversation we were having in the living room."

Clary's lips curved into a frown, "can we just forget about it?" she asked, crawling to him to give him a kiss, "and instead do what we're great at?" When Jace shook his head 'no', she reached over for a pillow and circled her arms around it, her chin tucking right on top of it. He crawled closer to sit directly in front of her, "whatever you were going to say is clearly important to have you acting this way. When did we start hiding things from each other?"

She stayed silent again, her eyes not meeting his. He understood that there was something holding her back, and he definitely didn't want to force it out of her. She had her walls for a reason. He leaned over to kiss her forehead and reached for his wallet behind her.

She watched his every movement as he removed something from his wallet. Jace took his time unfolding the napkin with care, placing the polaroid that was wrapped up in it on the pillow she held. He nodded for her to take, watching her eyes soften as she took a hold of it and glanced back at the napkin.

The polaroid was taken the third time they hung out, it was in front of a food stand at a desert festival she dragged him to. Their smiles were stretched from ear to ear, Clary was on his back laughing as they both had whip cream on their noses.

"You kept this," she whispered in disbelief. She placed the polaroid down and carefully picked up the napkin. Her eyes roaming the outlines they had drew from the first night they met. Flashes of that night and all their other moments together flooded her mind. She placed the napkin gently back down and turned to him to give her undivided attention.

Jace coughed his nerves away, reaching back for the polaroid with a smile, "Going back to what I mentioned before. I have thought about what we have, being something much more. Every time I get on the plane back home, I always find my self taking these out and just staring at them."

He swallowed the lump he had in his throat before continuing, "I think the first time I realized I cared about you was when you texted me that you had finally used the moves I taught you for self defense. The thought of someone groping had me riled up, nothing I've felt strong about before. That's why I had to take a flight here after that day."

Clary caught his gaze as she remembered him showing up at her dorm, "I did kick ass though!" she said in a matter of fact. She also recalled her roommate at the time teasing her about how lucky she was because of how "fucking delicious" he had looked. Her eyes had began to water but she refused to let them fall. She bit her bottom lip unintentionally and reached for his hands, having the urge to touch him.

"I'm not sure what you were going to say before, but I hope I do some day. The last time I left I knew that you felt hurt. No matter how hard you tried to hide it, your poker face no longer works on me so there's no denying it. But it did make me question if staying in New York was important" he said honestly.

He can recall their small text exchanges every two weeks from "I hope you're surviving this Monday" to 1AM weekend facetime requests. When he told her he was moving to New York for his new job, she showed so much excitement for him. He also found out that most of her childhood was with her mom in New York before she died and moved to Michigan for a fresh start. Every time he would go to a location she recommended, she would demand him to send a video of the atmosphere, reliving what she once knew.

His thumbs brushed against her palm, his fingers outlining the side of her wrist, "I don't believe I would've survived my transition to New York with out your suggestions and guidance. Although, I would like to add more on that list of yours when you do come."

He reached back and folded the napkin carefully with the polaroid, placing them on the side table. He then took a hold of her hand and placed it on his chest, right on top of his heart. She felt the thumps beat in a fast pace and she started to struggle to keep her tears from falling. She refused to let anyone see her cry, but her heart never felt so joyful and overwhelmed.

"You were right before, I don't do relationships, never did. But meeting you, spending time doing ridiculous yet memorable things with you, and having the honor to watch you accomplish your goals made me start to want things I never did. I had stopped seeing other people a great time ago because there was no point anymore. All I kept thinking about was you."

"I was happy you were bringing up what you felt. But when you stopped, I realized that I should've been honest with you months ago so you wouldn't have to second guess anything. I'm sorry for that, I should've told you sooner than today. Now that i-" he was cut off abruptly from Clary's lips moving against his. Her legs moving to straddle his as she deepened the kiss. His hands circled around her back possessively.

He slowly pulled away when he felt wet tearstains from her cheeks. His thumb immediately reached up to wipe away the salted droplets. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her wide eyes shinning more than he's ever seen.

"I just never felt this cared for by anyone" she admitted softly. Her fingers brushed the back of his neck, "but I only stopped because I wanted to be sober when I told how I truly felt". He chuckled as she gave his shoulder a punch, "but you better not mention you witnessed me cry to anyone". His lips dropped to her chin, giving butterfly kisses along her jaw line before whispering, "not a soul, but I am intrigued to find out what would happen if I do?"

She sat back on her hind legs, a mischievous smile plastered on her face as she reaches down to remove the shirt. Tossing it to the side, she gets up quickly heading towards the hallway, but Jace beats her to it. Shutting the door, he pushes her up against it, grabbing a hold of her hands to raise above her head.

"I thought you wanted to find out?" she asked as their fingers intertwined, his nose nuzzling against hers. Her knee inched up, rubbing against the outside of his legs. At that moment, he had never felt more alive. His eyes darted between hers, "come back with me."

His statement was loaded, almost in impulse, but he would gladly buy her a one way ticket to New York and make it her home if that's what she wanted. Her breathing became heavy, her leg dropped down but she gave his hands a tight squeeze.

"I- YES! I'll go, I'll go back with you" she said without any hesitation. She squealed as Jace carried her, spinning their bodies around before placing her against the bed. He had her and he was never letting her go.

Little did they know, that was their last night in Michigan. She stayed at his place for a month before they found a new apartment together. The construction company he worked for ended up creating an agreement with Clary in regards to architecture collaborations. The red head had accepted his angry proposal two years later when they were in the bathroom cleaning her wounds from a property visit.

During that same autumn night, he learned that she not only bought that terrible property, but she also started the demolition alone to recreate the drawing they made on that silly napkin years ago. By the time 3:15AM rolled around, he not only made her promise to not stepping foot on the property until he made sure it was safe, but also to consider becoming a foster parent with him.

With no hesitation at all, she agreed.


End file.
